Ballots inadvertently sent to teens too young to vote in Pueblo special district elections
A "firestorm" surrounding May 2 special district elections in Pueblo West, Colorado City and the Pueblo Rural Fire District is swirling after the Pueblo County Clerk's Office supplied each entity with voter lists that included teenagers who are too young to vote.
Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder Candace Rivera declined to serve as a designated election official for the May elections because she said she would not be certified by the Colorado Secretary of State in time to handle the elections. All three governmental entities opted to contract with the Community Resource Services of Colorado to oversee their elections.
Rivera reported in a press release Wednesday that her office provided lists of eligible voters to the Pueblo West Metropolitan District, Colorado City Metropolitan District and Pueblo Rural Fire District.
"The voter lists contained all voters registered in their respective districts and therefore included 16- and 17-year-olds who are not eligible to vote," Rivera said in the release. "When a person obtains a driver’s license, they are automatically registered to vote in Colorado and this includes pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, though they are not eligible to vote until they turn 18."
Colorado City Metro District Manager Jim Eccher told the Chieftain that Rivera's office did not discover the problem until Wednesday and the list his office used was received on Feb. 10. He said an updated list supplied Thursday came too late to correct the issues because ballots have already been mailed.
"It's a firestorm," Eccher said, although he noted there are probably less than two dozen underage residents on the Colorado City list.
The Pueblo West Metro District and Pueblo Rural Fire District had far more underage residents on their lists. Pueblo West had about 300 underage voters with 2005 birthdates on its list, said Anthony Sandstrom, Pueblo West Metro spokesperson.
"A guiding principal in resolving this issue is to ensure ineligible voters who have not reached the age of 18 should not be allowed to vote," Sandstrom said.
"The Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder was only obligated to supply the lists. Checking over these voter lists for ineligible voters is the responsibility of the designated election officials," Rivera stated in the release. "The Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder's office gave the districts an updated list of eligible voters as soon as the error was noticed and processes have been put in place to ensure this situation does not happen again."
All three special districts, Pueblo County government officials, the Colorado Secretary of State's Office and Community Resource Services of Colorado have been working together "to make sure the integrity of this election is maintained," Sandstrom said. A joint press release from Pueblo West and Pueblo County will be issued Friday.
Rivera did not respond to the Chieftain's requests for comment by its Thursday deadline.
More election news: Pueblo West hires contractor to handle May 2 election after county clerk declines
Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Ballots accidentally mailed to Pueblo County 16- and 17-year-olds
